Neil Atherton is a Paris-based photographer and curator from the UK. He has called Paris home for over a decade and still speaks French with an English accent. His personal photography is based almost uniquely on the use of out-of-date film and explores the physical effects of time on memory. He has a large camera collection of ‘70s rangefinders and compacts from the ‘80s and organizes the biannual photography festival Mois de a Photo-OFF.

Neil Atherton is a Paris-based photographer and curator from the UK. He has called Paris home for over a decade and still speaks French with an English accent. His personal photography is based almost uniquely on the use of out-of-date film and explores the physical effects of time on memory. He has a large camera collection of ‘70s rangefinders and compacts from the ‘80s and organizes the biannual photography festival Mois de a Photo-OFF.

This is another artistic centre that opened recently, this time housed in a former 19th century music hall that later became an indoor roller coaster attraction (yeah, really). The temporary exhibitions can be hit or miss, but I like hanging out in the free, open-to-all library on the first floor where you can sit in the futurist media pods and flip through the latest arts, culture, music, design and architecture magazines. Their shelves are also filled with a growing endowment of books which seem to be acquired according to the theme of the aforementioned exhibitions. Internet access is available on a dozen or so PCs (or via WiFi on your own machine) and for gamers, there are a few consoles connected to largish plasma screens. The café upstairs, with its classic baroque meets retro-futurist interior, is a sight to behold.

I go to the flea market in St Ouen to look for old cameras and expired film. But it’s also a great place to see all the different walks of life from Paris’ extreme social scene. At the top of the ladder you’ve got the aristo-bourgeois crowd acquiring Louis XV furniture at the indoor antiques markets; the thirty-something bobo set paying way over the odds for mid-century designer chairs and formica tables; the banlieusards from the Neuf Trois getting kitted out with the latest sneakers and hoodies along the rue des Rosières; then at the very bottom you’ve got people trying to scratch a living selling second hand food at the Carré des biffes at Porte Montmartre. It’s an eye opener for sure.

Opened in 2011 by the people at Magnum Photo Agency (their Paris bureau is a few streets away), Le Bal is an institutional exhibition space dedicated to the documentary image. For the most part that means lots of photography exhibits but they like to mix up the shows with videos and especially books. They hold conferences with a great line-up of guest speakers and screen documentaries and other films at the nearby Cinéma de Cinéastes. Be sure to check out the bookshop where you can browse through their connoisseur’s collection of high-end photo books and limited edition zines. Le Bal Café is a great place to meet friends for a quick drink or sit down and taste Anna and Alice’s Anglo-French cuisine. And if you’re wondering why it’s called Le Bal, the space was once a dance hall cum brothel in the roaring ‘20s.

Paris, unlike London, Brooklyn and err Chester, isn’t famed for its zoo. That’s because there isn’t anything quite as big here, but if its quality as opposed to size you’re looking for then the zoo in the Jardin des Plantes won’t leave you disappointed. There are about 1800 animals here, a third of which are endangered species, like the Amur leopard, pictured. The reptile house has big snakes and snap-happy crocodiles. There are even kangaroos and some other animals you wouldn’t have thought hardy enough to adapt to the cold chill of the Paris winters. The only drawback is the monkey house, which is a rather forlorn place with depressed-looking chimpanzees and gorillas gazing through shit-stained glass cages.

Climb your way up the escalators to the 9th floor of the Printemps department store (the Beauté & Maison building) for possibly one of the best panoramic views of Paris. You can see pretty much everything from here and unlike the views from the Eiffel Tower you’re right in the middle of the city and can almost reach out and touch the monuments around you. Go up on a sunny afternoon and take a seat on one of the benches, lay down on the fake grass lawn or have a drink and a snack at the Deli-Ciel café.

Clo’e Floirat is an author and illustrator. She began her rigorous training in New York, fleetingly leaving France to then attend the Design Academies of Reims and Eindhoven, Netherlands. This led her to Berlin, working with architects specializing in art spaces for another five years. From working with Robert Wilson as well as Rufus Wainwright in New York for several years, her interests have recently culminated in her graduation from the new master in Critical Writing in Art at the Royal College of Art, London.
She has become known for her signature drawings - a combination of drawing and writing with a critical orientation, into what she calls drawing Crit’writing - that cast a critical, humorous and refreshing look on the world of contemporary art.
Clo’e is a regular contributor to various publications, e.g., art press, Frieze, Intramuros, l’Officiel Art and the World of Interiors.
She is a special guest at Monumenta - Grand Palais in Paris since 2011, where she draws and writes along side major contemporary artists such as Anish Kapoor, Daniel Buren, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov.
More recently Art Brussels has invited her for a live critical drawing installation on the walls of the art fair.
In 2016 Kamel Mennour feat. Clo'e Floirat. A unique collaboration to take a closer look at his 2016 gallery program resulting in a solo exhibition at Kamel Mennour gallery - rue Saint André des Arts Paris 7ème.
In March 2016, Clo’e released her first book Pas mal pour de l’art with Marabout editions - Marabulles. This new publication constitutes a unique portrait of gallery and museum-goers, drawn with humor and perceptiveness.
Selected clients: Colette, Hermès, Illycaffè, La Ville de Paris, Pierre Hermé, SNCF, MAH!, Emeco, Ketel One, Droog Design.
Selected publishers: art press, Marabout, Gallimard, Frieze, Designo, Intramuros, l’Officiel Art, the World of Interiors, Eyrolles.

Sarah Kahn is a french art director and designer based between Paris and New York. Her work mixes commissioned projects for a wide selection of clients in arts institutions, cultural events, brands and magazines. Inspired by the worlds of visual arts, sociology, innovation and kids universe she is constantly experimenting new perspectives and artistic collaborations.

Claire is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer.
She’s interested in narrative with reference to archetypes
in architecture, literature and film.
Her work is included in the archives of the Film Department
at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and has been
shown at Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Her work has been featured
in Vogue, Purple, VICE and T: The New York Style Magazine.
In 2017, her contributions to Everything I Want To Eat: Sqirl and the
New California Cooking were nominated for a James Beard Award.
She is represented by a WHITELABEL product.
She lives between Los Angeles and Paris.

Theo Gennitsakis is a Paris based illustrator and art director, two years ago he founded his own agency La Surprise. Theo has worked for major brands such as Nike, Hermes, Adidas, Chanel and Motorola to name a few. His main inspiration are girls as he think they are the most beautiful thing in the world.